Will I actually talk to the lawyer?
Ask it first, and ask it plainly: if I hire you, am I speaking with you, or only with your staff?
This is not a customer service preference. A lawyer has an ethical duty to keep a client reasonably informed and to explain a matter well enough that the client can make their own decisions about it. That duty belongs to the lawyer. It does not transfer to a case manager, and it is not satisfied by a monthly status text from an office you never visit.
Good staff matter. A well-run firm has paralegals and case managers who handle records, bills and scheduling, and you should expect to work with them often. The question is whether the lawyer is reachable when something real happens: when an offer comes in, when the other side disputes fault, when you need to decide whether to settle.
If the answer is vague, or if the person answering cannot tell you when the lawyer last spoke to a client personally, that is your answer.
How much personal injury work does this firm actually do?
Plenty of lawyers handle injury cases occasionally, between wills, divorces and closings. Nothing is wrong with a general practice, but injury work rewards repetition in ways that are easy to miss until it costs you.
Experience shows up as knowing what to look for and what to ask. Which intersections and interchanges produce which kinds of crashes. Which trucking companies move fast to get their own investigators to a scene. Which employers in Texas carry workers' compensation and which have opted out, which changes your options entirely. What a medical record has to say for a claim to hold up, and what a gap in treatment will be used to argue.
Deadlines are part of this too. Most Texas injury claims carry a two-year limitations period, but a claim against a city, a county or another government entity can carry a notice deadline measured in months, and missing it can end a case that was otherwise strong. A lawyer who handles this work regularly spots that in the first conversation rather than the sixth.
You are allowed to ask directly. What share of your work is injury cases? Have you handled a case like mine, and how did it go? A lawyer who does this work will answer easily.
Do they try cases, or do they refer them out?
This is the question fewest people ask and the one that changes the most. You should also directly ask the lawyer before hiring them, "Have you tried a case before a jury?" and, if so, "When was that trial and what was the outcome?"
A great many firms that advertise for injury cases do not try them. They sign the case, work it to a point, and then refer it to another firm when it becomes clear the insurance company is not going to pay without a fight. That referral is legal and disclosed, but it means the lawyer you chose, and the relationship you built, is not the one handling your case when it matters.
Marco Crawford Law is often on the receiving end of those referrals. That is a strange thing for a firm to advertise, but it is the honest reason this question belongs on the list: if a case can be sent to a trial firm when it gets difficult, you may as well ask at the start whether the firm you are hiring is one.
There is a second reason, and it has nothing to do with whether your case ever sees a courtroom. Most cases settle. But a lawyer who is prepared to try the case builds it differently from the first week: preserving evidence before it disappears, taking depositions that will hold up, developing the medical proof properly instead of assembling a demand package. Insurance companies track which lawyers actually take cases to verdict, and they price offers accordingly. Preparing for trial is what produces a fair settlement, even when the trial never happens.
What else is worth asking
Four more that cost nothing to ask:
How long have you been a practicing attorney? Experience is what tells a lawyer how to handle the moments that decide a case: a witness who hurts you, a document you wish did not exist, how to carry yourself in a courtroom. It is also what it takes to judge what a case is actually worth.
Who else will touch my case, and what will they be doing? You should know the names.
How do you get paid, and what comes out of my recovery besides the fee? Injury firms generally work on a contingency fee, which means no attorney's fee unless there is a recovery. Case expenses are a separate matter from the fee, and you should understand how they are handled before you sign.
What happens in the first thirty days? A clear answer here tells you whether there is a plan or just an intake form.
Why the answers matter more than the ad
Advertising tells you who spent the most money this quarter. It tells you nothing about who will pick up the phone, who has handled a case like yours, or who will still be there if the insurance company decides to fight.
It is worth remembering who the other side is. The adjuster calling you within hours of the crash does this every day, works from a script, and is measured on what the claim costs the company. You are doing this once, while hurt. The gap between those two positions is exactly what the lawyer you choose is there to close, and it is why the questions above are worth a few minutes before you sign anything.
The questions above take a few minutes. The decision they inform will shape the next year or two of your life. Ask them of us, and ask them of anyone else you are considering.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a lawyer required to speak with me personally?
A lawyer has an ethical duty to keep you reasonably informed about your case and to explain things well enough that you can make your own decisions. That duty belongs to the lawyer, not to the staff. You should expect to work with paralegals and case managers on day-to-day matters, but the lawyer should be reachable for the decisions that matter.
Why does it matter whether a firm goes to trial if most cases settle?
Because preparation drives settlement value. A lawyer building a case for trial preserves evidence early, develops the medical proof properly and takes testimony that would hold up in court. Insurance companies know which firms try cases, and offers tend to reflect that. The possibility of trial is what makes a fair settlement likely.
What does it cost to ask these questions?
Nothing. A case review with our firm is free and takes a few minutes, and we work on a contingency fee, which means no attorney's fee unless we recover for you. You are free to ask the same questions of any other firm you are considering.
This article is general information about Texas law, not legal advice about your situation. For advice about your case, talk with an attorney.